Early Days"As an only child I
spent
a long time alone with my imagination." David
Gordon Nobbs was born in Petts Wood, South London on March 13th 1935,
the
only child of a schoolmaster and a schoolmistress, and lived his
childhood
in Orpington, Kent. At the outbreak of war in 1939, David and his
family
moved to Marlborough, Wiltshire, where he started his education. Back
in
Orpington after the war, he attended Bickley Hall preparatory school.
Then,
aged 13, it was back to Marlborough to attend college there. It was
here
that he first put pen to paper, writing articles for the college
magazine.This
was followed, at the age of 18, by the then customary two years
national
service, which he served in the Royal Corps of Signals. During this
time
he undertook a correspondence course in journalism. After leaving the
Signals
in 1955, he went to St. John’s College, Cambridge University where he
read
Classics in Part 1, and English in Part 2, although he spent much of
his
time writing for the university newspaper Varsity, and
sketches
for the Cambridge Footlights performance company. He graduated with a
second.

The Journalist Years"I was dogged by
misprints...'The
on-off separation between Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner was today
authoritatively
stated to be "ow"'."His education over, David
landed a job in 1958 with the Sheffield Star newspaper, which
lasted
two years. He then relocated to a bedsit in Narcissus Rd., West
Hampstead,
London in 1960 where he wrote ten stage plays (none of which were ever
performed) and started writing his first novel, but soon lost his
motivation.
Penniless (he earned £4 in eighteen months), he got a job at an
advertising
agency as a voucher clerk. He found the repetitive routine of his work
tedious – perhaps subconsciously preparing him for what would become
his
most famous creation, Reginald Perrin (although he always denies this).
Eventually
he returned to the ‘press gang’, working for the North London weekly
newspaper,
the
St. Pancras Chronicle. At this time, a new series had started
on television called ‘That Was The Week That Was’, hosted by David
Frost.
It was a satirical and topical look at the news of the time through
sketches
and skits. David had a few of his own sketches accepted and his
motivation
was restored. He gave up the day job and soon had two novels under his
belt: 'The Itinerant Lodger' was published by Methuen in 1965 and
concerned
a man who kept on moving home, and changed his job and even his name
each
time he did so. ‘OstrichCountry’ was published in 1968, again by
Methuen,
and featured nutritional scientist Pegasus Baines who give up his job
and
becomes a vegetable chef at an East Anglian hotel.At the same time he
started
to write material for some of Britain’s best-known comedians, including
Les Dawson, Frankie Howerd, Jimmy Tarbuck, Ken Dodd, Tommy Cooper and
Dick
Emery. 1969 saw the publication of 'A Piece Of The Sky Is Missing',
David's
most successful novel up to that time. It follows the exploits of
Robert
Bellamy, an employee of Cadman & Bentwhistle Manufacturing Co., who
is sacked for doodling rude pictures of his boss on the toilet wall,
and
his subsequent search for employment. The early 1970s saw David
continuing
to write comedy sketches for Britain's top comics and their shows, now
including Messrs. Barker and Corbett - The Two Ronnies (Ronnie Barker's
famous appearance as the minister from The Society for Pispromunciation
was written by David).

The Author"If my idea had been
accepted. that's all Reginald Perrin would ever have been - one
half-hour
play."In 1975, another novel
appeared,
‘The Death Of Reginald Perrin’, and David Nobbs was established as one
of the country’s top comedy writers. The BBC commissioned the book as a
series, starting with the pilot, first shown on September 8th 1976, and
the series quickly became one of the classics of British television,
with
David writing the scripts. Re-released after the success of the series
as ‘The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin’, the novel became the first
in
a trilogy. Both ‘The Return Of Reginald Perrin’ and ‘The Better World
of
Reginald Perrin’ were written in tandem with the TV series, although
all
three television series were known as ‘The Fall And Rise…’ on TV. The
great
success of the first series resulted in the unusual action of the
second
novel being published in both hardback (by Gollancz) and paperback (by
Penguin) at the same time. Since then, David has juggled TV series with
his novels, including ‘Fairly Secret Army’ for Channel 4, based loosely
on a character in the “…Perrin” novels; ‘Second From Last In The Sack
Race’,
the first of the Henry Pratt trilogy (and televised as ‘The Life And
Times
Of Henry Pratt’); 'A Bit Of A Do' (again novels, then TV series - this
series won David five awards); 'Rich Tea And Sympathy'; and the wartime
comedy drama ‘Stalag Luft’ starring Stephen Fry and Nicholas Lyndhurst.
In 1990 David won The Writers' Guild Special Award for 'services to
television
comedy'. In 1996, Reginald Perrin was resurrected - sort of. Reggie had
been killed and had left a huge sum of money to family and friends – on
one condition, namely that they do something totally and utterly
absurd.
The 1995 novel ‘The Legacy Of Reginald Perrin’ was once again televised
by the BBC, in 1996. His latest TV credit is an adaptation of the Miles
Gibson novel Kingdom Swann, ebtitled 'Gentleman's relish',
which
starred Billy Connolly and Sarah Lancashire and was broadcast at
Christmas
2000.

The Present"Good programmes still
get made. Good books still get published. There is a basic,
inextinguishable
need for stories. I ain't finished yet." Now
living
in North Yorkshire with his second wife Susan, David Nobbs lists his
interests
as including eating, drinking, travelling, playing bridge, dominoes and
mah jongg, watching cricket and football (he still supports Hereford
United:
"Well, not many other people do!", he says), ornithology, cruising and
weeding. He has innumerable credits to his name, including radio
serials.
He also hosts regular creative writing workshops for budding novelists.
He has 13 novels to his name. His latest, called 'Going Gently', was
published
on July 6th 2000, and is now available in paperback. His autobiography,
entitled 'I Didn't Get Where I Am Today...' was published on 6th March
2003, and David has since co-wrote a revival of The Fall and Rise of
Reginald
Perrin for a new BBC audience. Called Reggie Perrin and broadcast in
2009,
a second series has been commissioned for 2010.

Bibliography:

The
Itinerant Lodger. (Methuen, 1965) - Buy this
DownloadA man, unable to
keep a
job for very long, moves from town to town, changing his name as he
goes.
The book is basically a series of sketches, poking fun at the various
institutions
in which the central characterworks, including the post office and the
police force.

Ostrich
Country. (Methuen,
1968)
- Buy this DownloadThe adventures of a
scientist-turned-hotel
chef. From the flap: "Whether Pegasus Baines would have been so glad if
he had foreseen the the outcome of his hasty decision to abandon the
career
of potential Nobel prize-winning nutrition scientist in favour of that
of world famous chef is less certain..." The 'ostrich country' of the
novel
lies somewhere between modern Britain and cloud cuckoo-land. The tale
of
Baines' tangles which gradually involve mistresses old and new,
long-suffering
family and several more or less innocent bystanders, modulates from
humorous
melancholy to hilarious farce.

A Piece Of The
Sky Is
Missing. (Methuen, 1969)The mishaps and
misfortunes
of a man sacked from his job. Robert Bellamy is an executive at Cadman
and Bentwhistle Manufacturing Co., until he draws a caricature of the
export
manager on the lavatory wall. This is just the first of many mishaps
that
befall him, which eventually lead to him being arrested for drunkenly
assaulting
a police officer.

The Death Of
Reginald
Perrin, 1975 reprinted as The Fall & Rise Of Reginald Perrin.
(Victor
Gollancz, 1975)Reggie Perrin is
tired of
the rat race, and decides to fake his own suicide and live a new life.
Adapted from a rejected BBC play submission to Pebble Mill, Birmingham
in which the hero commits suicide. In the novel, Perrin's frustrations
build until he can take no more, sabotages his boss's sycophantic
fishing
contest, where employees are literally 'angling for promotion', and
leaves
his clothes on a Dorset beach, to simulate a drowing. He the nroams the
English countryside in various guises, before realising he misses his
wife
and family too much, and returns to them.

The Return Of
Reginald
Perrin. (Victor Gollancz, 1977)Reggie is back, with
a shop
called Grot, selling useless products. Now back with his wife, but
living
publicly under the guise of Martin Wellbourne, Reggie returns to
Sunshine
Desserts to run his own memorial foundation. The boss finds out his
real
identity, and he gets the sack. During an attempt by his brother-in-law
to recruit Reggie into his secret army, Reggie has the idea for a shop
selling rubbish at grossly inflated prices. His Grot shop becomes a
chain,
then a national institution, but Reggie finds himself in the same
commuting
rut, and fakes his suicide again, this time with his wife.

The Better
World Of Reginald
Perrin. (Victor Gollancz, 1978)Reggie decides to
set up
a community for the middle-aged and middle class. After returning once
more from the itinerant life, Reggie feels there is something he must
do
for the good of mankind as a whole. He evises Perrins, a community for
the middle-aged and middle-class set in suburbia. All goes well,
eventually,
until local thugs take offence to Perrins' Peacekeeping Force and
destroy
the community. With Sunshine Desserts now bankrupt, he is invited for
an
interview at Amalgamated Aerosols. He gets the job, working for C J
once
again, and with his brother F J as managing director.

Second From
Last In The
Sack Race. (Methuen, 1983)The story, from
birth to
National Service, of Yorkshire lad Henry Pratt. Beginning just before
the
outbreak of World War Two, the novel concerns Henry Pratt and his
recurring
problems with parents, school, friends, religion and sex. Evacuated,
albeit
with his mother, to the Dales during the war, he is seen as a 'townie'
and, upon his return to Thurmarsh town after the war, is seen as a
'country
boy'. Misfortunes and bad luck episodes abound, until he joins up for
National
Service.

A Bit Of A Do:
A Story
In Six Place Settings. (Methuen, 1986)The social
gatherings of
two Yorkshire families, and the romances and feuding that ensue, when
the
two families are brought together by marriage. Clever social insights
into
politics, provincial business and the British class system.

Pratt Of The
Argus. (Methuen,
1988)Henry Pratt is back,
and
working for a newspaper, the Thurmarsh Argus, but still having
incredible
bad luck at getting the 'big scoop', or any for that matter. He lodges
for a time with his Cousin Hilda, who runs a guest house for a number
of
gentlemen, whom she rules over with a rod of iron. A worthy sequel to
...Sack
Race.

Fair Do's
(Methuen, 1990)
- Buy
This BookMore social
gatherings,
a follow-up to A Bit Of A Do. Events include a funeral, a fancy dress
party
and a christening.

The Cucumber
Man. (Methuen,
1994) - Buy
This BookHenry Pratt is now
in middle-age
and working for the Cucumber Marketing Board. More painful insights
into
the 'Yorkshire' Frank Spencer, as he approaches middle age and beyond.

The Legacy Of
Reginald
Perrin. (Methuen, 1995) - Buy
This BookReggie has died and
left
a rather unusual will. £1million has been left to his close
family
and colleagues - provided they can be shown to do something totally and
utterly absurd. After weak efforts separately, they decide to unite on
one idea - to rail against ageism. But the idea becomes far too
sensible
and worthy for the executor of the will to release the will.

The Reginald
Perrin Omnibus
(Arrow Books, February 1999) - Buy
This BookThe first three
Perrin books
in one handy volume for the first time.

Going Gently.
(Heinemann,
2000) - Buy
This BookAn elderly, disabled
woman
looks back on her life from her hospital bed. Kate Thomas is supposed
to
be a 'vegetable' after a severe stroke, but still has all her mental
faculties
and 'rewinds' her life, reflecting on her six marriages and numerous
relationships
and events throughout her life, and more seriously, to try to determine
which of her three sons murdered her fifth husband.

I Didn't Get
Where I Am
Today... (Heineman, 2003) - Buy
This BookDavid's autobigraphy.

Sex And Other
Changes
(Heinemann, 2006) - Buy
This BookThe story of a
seemingly
happily-married couple. Except for the small secret that Nick wants to
become Nicola. Alison agrees to become Alan in return. A funny,
touching
and compassionate study of what being a man and a woman really means.

Pratt a Manger
(Heinemann,
2007) - Buy
This BookHenry Pratt, now a
succesful
restaurant chef, becomes an even more successful TV chef. But rivalries
in the kitchen and in the bedroom look set to scupper his new-found
popularity.
The latest in the brilliantly-told life story of Henry Pratt.

The Complete
Pratt (Arrow,
2007) - Buy
This BookThe first three
Perrin books
in one handy volume for the first time.

Cupid's Dart
(Heinemann,
2007) - Buy
This BookThe story of the
unlikeliest
of relationships. Philosophy lecturer and virgin at 55 Alan, and
astrology-mad
darts groupie Ange.

Obstacles To
Young Love
(2010) - Buy
This Book‘Three mighty
obstacles
threaten the burgeoning love of childhood sweethearts Timothy Pickering
and Naomi Walls. They are Steven Venables, a dead curlew and God.’
Across
the decades their lives continue to interweave, and occasionally cross
– bound by the pull of intoxicating first love. But will their
destinies
ultimately unite them?

It Had To Be You (2011)
- Buy
This Book
'One man, five very different women. James Hollingshurst is a man
shaped by those who surround him. And in James's case, it's some very
different women. Be it his trusty wife Deborah, his hapless PA Marcia
or his ex-girlfriend Jane. And there's one woman in James's life who
looks set to upset the status quo.

The Fall & Rise of Gordon
Coppinger (2012) - Buy This Book'When
revelations about the scandalous relationships and less than honest
business practices of Sir Gordon Coppinger - infamous financier and
devotee of excess - are made public, the glamorous facade of his London
life begins to crumble and those around him fear the worst. But, much
to Sir Gordon's surprise, all he can feel is relief.'

The Second Life Of Sally Mottram
(2014) - Buy This Book‘The
heart-warming tale of 47 year old Sally Mottram, her life in ruins, who
sets out to revive the fortunes of Potherthwaite, the depressed Pennine
Town in which she lives.The
results are astonishing - for Potherthwaite, and for her.

The Two
Ronnies, 1971-8798 eps. between
10.4.71
and 25.12.87One of Britain's
greatest
ever double acts appeared in a seemingly endless number of sketches,
songs
and 'news items' over the years. DN was one of the main writers of the
show.

The Kenneth
Williams Show,
19761 x 45min special
21.1.76The Carry-On star in
sketches
with Lance Percival and Anna Karen. Preceded by a 6 ep series, this
special
had gags co-written by DN and Peter Vincent.

Our Young Mr.
Wignall,
1976Details unavailable.
DN
was the writer.

The Fall and
Rise of Reginald
Perrin, 19767 x 30min eps.
8.9.76 -
20.10.76The mid life crisis
of the
food firm executive and his escape from the rat race. DN wrote the
scripts,
adapted from his novel The Death of Reginald Perrin.

The Fall and
Rise of Reginald
Perrin, 19777 x 30min eps.
21.9.77 -
2.11.77Reggie has returned
to his
family and starts the rubbish empire Grot.

The Les Dawson
Show, 1978-7933 eps. from 21.1.78
to
23.11.89Dawson's ITV series
transferred
to the BBC. DN wrote gags for 1 ep.

The Fall and
Rise of Reginald
Perrin, 1978-797 x 30min eps.
29.11.78
- 24.1.79Reggie starts the
Perrins
community for the middle-class, middle-aged dissatisfied.

The Sun Trap,
19806 x 30min eps.
25.4.80 -
30.5.80Sitcom about a group
ex-pat
Brits o a Mediterranean island, desperate to make a little piece of
England
in the sun. Starred Donald Churchill, Graham Crowden and Joan Benham.
DN
wrote the series.

The Glamour
Girls, 1980-8213 x 30min eps.
23.10.80
- 27.11.80 and 23.2.82 - 6.4.82Brigit Forsyth and
Sally
Watts starred as dissatisfied workers taken on by a 'glamour agency'.
DN
wrote the series.

Dogfood Dan
and The Camarthen
Cowboy, 1982 and 19881 x 60min ep.
24.7.82 and
6 x 30min eps. 4.2.88 - 10.3.88Play then sitcom
about two
dogffod-carrying lorry drivers unwittingly having affairs with each
others
wives. DN wrote both the TV play and the sitcom.

segment of The
Funny Side
of Christmas, 19821 x 5min segment,
27.12.82Reggie Perrin and
his family
and colleagues reunited for this take on suburban sitcom Christmas.

Fairly Secret
Army, 1984,
198613 x 30min eps.
22.10.84
- 26.11.84 and 1.9.86 - 13.10.86Geoffrey Palmer
played army
cast-off Harry Truscott, forminga secret army to fight for Britain
'when
the balloon goes up'. DN wrote the series, an expansion of his Jimmy
Anderson
character from The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

A Bit Of A Do,
198913 x 60min eps.
13.1.89
- 17.2.89 and 20.10.89 - 1.12.8913 different parties
or
engagements for the Simcocks and Sillitoes and their battles with class
differences, gossip and jealousy. Starring David Jason, Gwen Taylor and
Stephanie Cole, DN wrote the series, adapted from his novel A Bit Of A
Do.Winner of the
following
awards: 1989 Royal Television Society - Best Drama Series; 1990 British
Comedy Awards - Top British TV Comedy and Top British ITV/Channel4 TV
Sitcom.

The Life and
Times of
Henry Pratt, 19922 x 60min eps.The story of
luckless, hapless
Henry Pratt and his working-class Yorkshire family. DN wrote the
series,
adapted from his novel Second From Last In The Sack Race.

Stalag Luft,
19931 x 60min ep.Comedy drama
charting the
escape attempts of British prisoners of war in a German detention camp.
Starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, Stephen Fry and Geoffrey Palmer, DN wrote
the play.

Love On A
Branch Line,
19944 x 50min eps.
12.6.94 -
3.7.94The adventures of a
civil
servant sent out to remote East Anglia to close down a wartime research
agency set in a country mansion. His unwitting involvement with the
Lord
and Lady's children distract him from the task at hand. Adapted from
the
1959 novel by John Hadfield, DN adapted and wrote the screenplay.

Cuts, 1996Comedy-drama about
the attempts
of a media company to make an epic TV series. Adapted by DN from a
novella
by Malcolm Bradbury.

The Legacy of
Reginald
Perrin, 19967 x 30min eps.
22.9.96 -
31.10.96Reginald Perrin has
died
and left in his will £1million each to family and colleagues,
provided
they do something utterly absurd to earn it. DN wrote the series,
adapted
from his novel.

The Maltby
Collection,
2007-18 x 30min ep. in 3
series
15.6.07- (ongoing)DN wrote this BBC
Radio
4 sitcom set in a small, threatened museum. Starring Geoffrey Palmer
and
Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Comedy Map Of
Britain,
20071 x 50min ep. 27.1.07DN revisited some of
the
filming scenes of Perrin, including the beach in the title sequence.

Reggie Perrin,
2009/106 x 30min ep.,
24.4.09 -
29.5.09DN co-wrote, with
Simon
Nye, the classic Reginald Perrin story for a new audience. Starring
Martin
Clunes and Faye Ripley. A new series may be commissioned for 2010.